Power efficient mesh network

ABSTRACT

A method of communication between a plurality of network devices and an external electronic device is provided. The method includes receiving, at a first network device, device information and power information from a second network device, where the received device information and power information is transferred over a first communication link on a first network, where the first communication link is formed between a first transceiver of the first network device and a first transceiver of the second network device. The method further includes comparing the received power information with power information of the first network device. The method further includes transferring a portion of the received device information from the first network device over a second communication link on a second network when it is determined based on the comparison that the first network device is better suited than the second network device to communicate on the second network.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to wirelesselectronic devices and methods of using the same that are powered by anon-board power source (e.g., a battery), and more specifically to amethod and apparatus for extending the amount of useable time that agroup of the wireless electronic devices (also referred to as a mesh)can communicate with each other and other external devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many of today's electronic devices operate on battery power. Theseelectronic devices consume battery power to perform a variety ofoperations, such as running applications, energizing LEDs and displays,and performing wireless communication. For some electronic devices, thepower required to remain connected to one or more wireless networks canrepresent the largest component of power consumed by these devices.Thus, the power demands for wireless communication can significantlyaffect when recharging or replacing a battery is needed for a givenelectronic device.

In some wireless communication applications it is desirable to assurethat information is rapidly transferred between electronic devices, suchas during user emergency situations or where the rapid transfer ofinformation between electronic devices is required to assure that theinformation is received in a timely manner by the receiving electronicdevice so that it can perform some useful function. Therefore, in someconfigurations it is desirable to continually maintain a wirelessconnection between electronic devices to avoid the time lag that isrequired to form a wireless connection every time that information needsto be transferred between electronic devices. Maintaining a continuouswireless connection to a wireless network can improve the reliabilityand speed that the transmission of information is performed across thewireless network, but at a cost of high-power consumption of limitedpower resources when an electronic device is battery powered.

Recharging a battery for a device typically limits the usefulness of theelectronic device, for example, by restricting a portable electronicdevice to the length of the chord to which the device is attached duringrecharging. If the function of the electronic device is connected to aparticular location, such as a sensor attached to a door, then the mainfunction of the device can be lost during recharging that occurs atlocations other than that particular location. Replacing a battery foran electronic device can be performed faster than recharging a batteryfor the device, but the device loses all function when the device ispowered down during the replacement.

Due to the reduced or lost functions of electronic devices that occurduring recharging and replacing batteries and the high-power consumptionthat is caused by maintaining continuous wireless connections, there isa need to increase the time that these electronic devices can remainfully operational before recharging or replacing a battery is needed.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to wireless communication.In one embodiment, a method of communication between a plurality ofnetwork devices is provided. The method may include receiving, at afirst network device, device information and power information from asecond network device, wherein the received device information and powerinformation is transferred over a first communication link on a firstnetwork, wherein the first communication link is formed between a firsttransceiver of the first network device and a first transceiver of thesecond network device. The method further includes comparing thereceived power information with power information of the first networkdevice, wherein the power information of the first network deviceincludes information about a first power source used to power the firstnetwork device and the received power information includes informationabout a second power source used to power the second network device. Themethod further includes transferring at least a portion of the receiveddevice information from the first network device over a secondcommunication link on a second network when it is determined based onthe comparison that the first network device is better suited than thesecond network device to communicate on the second network, wherein thesecond communication link is formed between a second transceiver of thefirst network device and a device transceiver of an external electronicdevice.

In another embodiment, a method is provided for communicating between aplurality of network devices on a low-power wireless network and anexternal electronic device on a high-power wireless network. The methodincludes receiving, by a first network device of a plurality of networkdevices, information from one of the other plurality of network devicesusing a first communication link formed using the low-power wirelessnetwork. The method further includes transferring at least a portion ofthe received information from the first network device to the high-powerwireless network using a second communication link, wherein the firstand second communication links are maintained simultaneously by thefirst network device. The method further includes upon determining asecond network device of the plurality of network devices is bettersuited to communicate with the high-power wireless network than thefirst network device, forming a third communication link between thesecond network device and the high-power wireless network andterminating the second communication link.

In another embodiment, a first network device is provided including aprocessor, a first transceiver, and a second transceiver. a memoryhosting an application, which, when executed on the processor, performsan operation for communicating to a plurality of other network deviceson a first wireless network and communicating to an external electronicdevice on a second wireless network. The operation includes receiving,at the first network device, device information and power informationfrom a second network device, wherein the received device informationand power information is transferred over a first communication link ona first network, wherein the first communication link is formed betweena first transceiver of the first network device and a first transceiverof the second network device. The operations further include comparingthe received power information with power information of the firstnetwork device, wherein the power information of the first networkdevice includes information about a first power source used to power thefirst network device and the received power information includesinformation about a second power source used to power the second networkdevice. The operations further include transferring at least a portionof the received device information from the first network device over asecond communication link on a second network when it is determinedbased on the comparison that the first network device is better suitedthan the second network device to communicate on the second network,wherein the second communication link is formed between a secondtransceiver of the first network device and a device transceiver of theexternal electronic device.

Embodiments of the disclosure may also provide a wireless communicationsystem that includes a first network device and a second network device.The first network device may include a first processor, a first powerstorage device, an external network communication transceiver, and aninternal network communication transceiver. The second network devicemay include a second network device comprising a second processor, asecond power storage device, an external network communicationtransceiver, and an internal network communication transceiver. Thefirst network device may further include a non-transitory memory in thefirst network device that hosts an application, which, when executed bythe first processor, performs an operation comprising receiving deviceinformation and power information from the second network device,wherein the received device information and power information istransferred over a first communication link formed between the internalnetwork communication transceiver of the first network device and theinternal network communication transceiver of the second network device,comparing the received power information with power information of thefirst network device, wherein the power information of the first networkdevice includes information about the first power storage device used topower the first network device and the received power informationincludes information about the second power storage device used to powerthe second network device, and transferring at least a portion of thereceived device information from the first network device to an externalelectronic device using the external network communication transceiverin the first network device when it is determined based on thecomparison that the first network device is better suited to communicatewith the external electronic device than the second network device.

Embodiments of the disclosure may also provide a wireless communicationsystem, comprising a first network device and a second network device.The first network device may include a first processor, a first powerstorage device, an external network communication transceiver, aninternal network communication transceiver, and a first power sensorthat is configured to measure power information from the first powerstorage device. The second network device may include a second networkdevice comprising a second processor, a second power storage device, anexternal network communication transceiver, an internal networkcommunication transceiver, and a second power sensor that is configuredto measure power information from the second power storage device. Thefirst network device may further include a non-transitory memory in thefirst network device that hosts an application, which, when executed bythe first processor, performs an operation comprising comparing powerinformation that is received from the second network device with powerinformation measured by the first power sensor, wherein the receivedpower information includes information measured by the second powersensor, and transferring device information from the first networkdevice to an external electronic device using the external networkcommunication transceiver when it is determined, based on the comparisonof the power information received from the second network device and thepower information measured by the first power sensor, that the firstnetwork device is better suited to communicate with the externalelectronic device than the second network device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlyexemplary embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting ofits scope, and may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a communication environmentfor a group of network devices, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 1B illustrates a network device that can be used in the group ofnetwork devices of FIG. 1A, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method for determining when a networkdevice from the group of network devices of FIG. 1A connects anddisconnects from a high-power wireless network, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for determining when a networkdevice from the group of network devices of FIG. 1A transfers databetween a low-power wireless network and a high-power wireless network,according to one embodiment.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements and features of oneembodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments withoutfurther recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to techniques forextending an amount of time that an electronic device, which is poweredby an on-board power source (e.g., a battery) can wirelessly communicatewith an external device using a wireless communication technique thatconsumes a large amount of power versus other wireless communicationtechniques. Wireless communication techniques that consume a largeamount of power may be required in some applications to assure thatinformation is rapidly and reliably transferred between the electronicdevice and an external device and/or the internet.

However, by use of one or more of the methods and apparatuses describedherein the amount of time that an electronic device can wirelesslycommunicate with an external device can be increased by forming a groupof networked electronic devices that wirelessly communicate with eachother using a wireless technique that consumes less power than thewireless technique used to communicate with the external device on thehigh-power wireless network. The methods and apparatuses describedherein allow the group of networked electronic devices to continuouslycommunicate with the external device by selecting one of the networkedelectronic devices to continuously communicate with the external deviceusing the higher power-consuming wireless technique. Therefore, one ormore of the embodiments disclosed herein can extend the amount of timethat the group can continuously communicate with an external deviceand/or internet by selectively switching which device is wirelesslyconnected to a high-power wireless network to enable the better-suiteddevice (e.g., devices with higher power levels) to provide the wirelessconnection to the high-power wireless network for the group.Furthermore, during some periods of time (e.g., low battery levels onall of the devices in the group), the group can disconnect from thehigh-power wireless network when data is not being transferred betweenthe networked electronic devices or between the group and the externaldevice. The group can then later reconnect to transfer data between thenetworked electronic devices and the external device on an as-neededbasis or until conditions improve (e.g., when a network device in thegroup has a more fully charged battery).

The embodiments described herein provide numerous examples of how thecollective runtime of the group of network devices can be extendedbefore a disruption in the communication between the network devicesand/or communication between the networked devices and external deviceis necessitated by recharging or replacing a battery in one of thenetwork devices occurs. For example, the state-of-charge and/orpredicted runtimes of the batteries in each of the network devices inthe group can be monitored. Monitoring these values enables the use ofthe network devices having higher amounts of charge or longer predictedruntimes as the bridge device while conserving power for those deviceshaving lower amounts of charge or shorter predicted runtimes, so thatthe collective runtime of the group of devices can be extended.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, execution of software applicationsstored in the memory of the network devices also allow the group ofnetwork devices to disconnect from the high-power wireless network in aneffort to conserve power when battery power levels for the networkdevices in the group are below a certain power level threshold. Thenetwork device providing the connection between the group of networkdevices and the external device accessible on the high-power wirelessnetwork, also referred to as the bridge device, can then reconnect tothe high power wireless network on an as-needed basis minimizing powerconsumption until a bridge device with more power becomes available.

Moreover, if an additional network device (e.g., a mobile phone) becomesavailable on the low-power wireless network and the high-power wirelessnetwork and to the group, then the additional network device can serveas the bridge device allowing the collective power of the group to beconserved. Using the additional network device as the bridge deviceallows power consumption for the group to be conserved because nonetwork device in the group is communicating with its high-poweredtransceiver on the high-power wireless network.

FIG. 1A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a communication environment100 in which a group 105 of network devices 110 _(G) (the “G” indicatingthe network device is part of the group 105) are positioned, accordingto one embodiment. Each network device 110 _(G) is capable of wirelesscommunication on a low-power wireless network 101 and a high-powerwireless network 102. Although the network devices 110 _(G) aresimilarly illustrated in FIG. 1A, one or more of the network devices 110may be different from the other network devices 110 _(G). For example,in one embodiment the group 105 of network devices 110 _(G) may includea sensor, an audio device, a universal remote, a controller, a smartphone, a PDA, a computer and an actuator. One will note that the phrases“high-power wireless network” and “low-power wireless network” usedherein are intended to describe types of communication methods and/orcommunication protocols that use different relative levels of power tocomplete the transfer of information between various electronic devices.In other words, a first device using the “high-power wireless network”to communicate with a second device will use more power to perform thecommunication process versus the same first device transferring the sameinformation to the second device using the “low-power wireless network.”The transfer of information on the “high” and “low” power networks willgenerally require different hardware and software components to performthe transfer of data between devices.

The network devices 110 _(G) are able to communicate with each otherover a low-power wireless network 101. Each network device 110 _(G)includes an internal network communication transceiver, which is alsoreferred to herein as a low-power transceiver 120, to enableconnectivity to the other network devices 110 _(G) on the low-powerwireless network 101. The low-power wireless network 101 could be, forexample, a Bluetooth® network (e.g., BTLE, Bluetooth classic), AvneraAudio Link (AAL) protocol network, ANT network, ANT+ network, a 433 mHznetwork, ZigBee or Zigbee RF4CE network, Nike+ network, IrDA network,Zwave network, or a Wi-Fi network (e.g., IEEE 802.11a,b,g,n).

The group 105 of network devices 110 _(G) is also connected to ahigh-power wireless network 102. Each network device 110 _(G) includes ahigh-power transceiver 130 to enable connectivity to high-power wirelessnetwork 102. The high-power wireless network 102 can be, for example, aWi-Fi network (e.g., IEEE 802.11a,b,g,n) or a cellular network, such asa GSM, CDMA, GPRS, and fourth generation (4G) telecommunication network.The high-power wireless network 102 may be connected to one or moreother local or remote devices, also referred to herein as externalelectronic devices, such as a local computing device 50 or a cloudserver 60 that is accessible through an internet connection 103. Thehigh-power transceiver 130 is thus also referred to herein as anexternal network communication transceiver, which may be configured tocommunicate with the external electronic device. In some embodiments,the external electronic device may include intermediary devices that areintended to relay the signals received on the high-power wirelessnetwork 102, such as a wireless router, cell tower, or any other type ofwireless access point device. In some communication configurations, ahigh-power transceiver 130 in one of the network devices 110 _(G) mayalso be used to transfer information to other network devices 110 _(G)using a communication link formed between the high-power transceivers130 found in the linked network devices 110 _(G). In some cases, one ofthe linked network devices 110 _(G) is the bridge device.

As briefly discussed above, a given type of network can be classified asthe low-power wireless network 101 or the high-power wireless network102 depending on the power usage of the other network. For example, aWi-Fi network can be the high-power wireless network 102 when the othernetwork is a Bluetooth® network, or the Wi-Fi network can be thelow-power wireless network 101 when the other network is a cellularnetwork or other type of network that uses more power to transferinformation between devices than using the Wi-Fi network.

In some configurations, the network devices 110 _(G) are able tocontinuously communicate with each other over the low-power wirelessnetwork 101, while the bridge device is also continuously communicatingwith the external device over the high-power wireless network 102. Asdiscussed above, the collective runtime of the group of network devices110 _(G) can thus be extended before a disruption in the communicationbetween one or more of the networked devices 110 _(G) and/orcommunication between the networked devices 110 _(G) and external deviceis necessitated due to the need to recharge or replace one of the powersources in one of the network devices 110 _(G) occurs. Therefore, thetransfer of information speed between the networked devices 110 _(G)(e.g., no time lag) can be maintained at a desirable level, while thecollective useable lifetime of the networked devices 110 _(G) can bemaximized.

Each network device 110 _(G) also includes a power source 150 to powerthe components of the network device 110 _(G). For example, the powersource 150 may power the low-power transceiver 120 and the high-powertransceiver 130. The power source 150 (also referred to herein as a“power storage device”) may be an on-board battery, super capacitor orother similar energy storage device that is rechargeable ornon-rechargeable. The power source 150 may be sized to enable thenetwork device 110 _(G) to operate for years before recharging orreplacement of the power source 150 is needed.

The group 105 of network devices 110 _(G) can use different networktopologies to form the connections between each other on the low-powerwireless network 101 and the high-power wireless network 102. Thesenetwork topologies can include, for example, peer-to-peer, cluster, starand combinations of these arrangements. In some embodiments, eachnetwork device 110 _(G) includes the low-power transceiver 120 and thehigh-power transceiver 130, so each network device 110 _(G) is capableof communicating to both networks 101, 102 directly. FIG. 1A shows allof the network devices 110 _(G) connected to each other on the low-powerwireless network 101 and one of the network devices 110 _(G) connectedto the high-power wireless network 102.

During some periods of time, the communication environment 100 mayinclude an additional network device 110 _(A) (the “A” indicating thenetwork device is additional and not part of the group 105), such as amobile phone, smart phone, personal computer, tablet, smart watch orother similar device. Used herein, a network device 110 without asubscript character refers to either a network device 110 _(G) of thegroup 105 or at least one additional network device 110 _(A). Theadditional network device 110 _(A) can include many of the samecomponents as the network devices 110 _(G), such as the transceivers120, 130 and the power source 150. In some embodiments, the additionalnetwork device 110 _(A) also includes a power input 152. The power input152 can be used to recharge the power source 150 of the additionalnetwork device 110 _(A), by connecting the power source 150 to externalpower. In some embodiments, the additional network device 110 _(A) isnot powered by a battery, such as an electronic device that receivespower from an electrical outlet. Thus, the additional network device110A may be powered by an on-board power source, a remote power source,or a combination of an on-board power source and a remote power source.

The additional network device 110 _(A) is generally not part of thegroup 105, but the additional network device 110 _(A) can help to extendthe collective runtime of the group 105 before a disruption necessitatedby recharging or replacing a battery for one of the network devices 110_(G) in the group 105 occurs. For example, the additional network device110 _(A) can connect to the group 105 on the low-power wireless network101 and can also connect to the high-power wireless network 102. Theadditional network device 110 _(A) can serve as a bridge device betweenthe low-power wireless network 101 and the high-power wireless network102 allowing the group 105 to collectively conserve power by notrequiring any of the network devices 110 _(G) to be directly connectedto the high-power wireless network 102. The additional network device110 _(A) may be available to communicate with the network devices 110_(G) on a transient basis. The transient basis of the additional networkdevice 110 _(A) may be caused, for example, by moving the additionalnetwork device 110 _(A) to a location beyond the communication range ofone of the networks 101, 102 (e.g., someone leaving a location with amobile phone) or shutting off the additional network device 110 _(A)(e.g., a desktop computer powering down).

As noted above, the network devices 110 consume more power whenexchanging a given set of data over the high-power wireless network 102versus exchanging a given set of data over the low-power wirelessnetwork 101. For example, a first network device 110 ₁ (a network device110 _(G) or an additional network device 110 _(A)) consumes more powertransmitting data using the high-power transceiver 130 than when thefirst network device 110 ₁ transmits the same data using the low-powertransceiver 120. Thus, to conserve power the network devices 110generally communicate with each other over the low-power wirelessnetwork 101 (first network) and thus provide information to thehigh-power wireless network 102 and external device(s) through one ofthe network devices 110, such as the first network device 110 ₁.

A communication link between the low-power transceivers 120 of twonetwork devices 110 is referred to as a low-power communication link(e.g., first communication link). A communication link between ahigh-power transceiver 130 of one of the network devices 110 and atransceiver of device (e.g., local computing device 50) on thehigh-power wireless network 102 (second network) is referred to as ahigh-power communication link (e.g., second communication link). Ahigh-power communication link formed after terminating the secondcommunication link is referred to as a third communication link. Forexample, information can first be exchanged between the low-powerwireless network 101 and the high-power wireless network 102 when thefirst network device 110 ₁ is the bridge device, and then informationcan be exchanged between the low-power wireless network 101 and thehigh-power wireless network 102 when a second network device 110 ₂ isthe bridge device. In this example, when the first network device 110 ₁is the bridge device, the first network device 110 ₁ is communicatingwith the high-power wireless network 102 via the second communicationlink, and when the second network device 110 ₂ becomes the bridgedevice, the second network device 110 ₂ is communicating with thehigh-power wireless network 102 via the third communication link. Unlessotherwise specified, any network devices 110 can be the bridge deviceand a communication link can be formed between any network device 110and the high-power wireless network 102. In some embodiments, the bridgedevice can maintain a persistent connection to the high-power wirelessnetwork 102 for long periods of time, such as several days, severalmonths, or longer. However, in some embodiments, the bridge device candeliberately disconnect from the high-power wireless network 102 toconserve power under some conditions as is described below in referenceto FIG. 3.

Each network device 110 that is connected to both networks 101, 102 isreferred to as a bridge device. Because each network device 110 canconnect to both networks 101, 102, any of the network devices 110 can bea bridge device. FIG. 1A shows two bridge devices, but a commonarrangement includes one bridge device, so that only one network device110 _(G) is connected to the high-power wireless network 102 in theabsence of an additional network device 110 _(A), and, in someconfigurations, no network device 110 _(G) is connected to thehigh-power wireless network 102 when an additional network device 110_(A) is serving as the bridge device. Having no network device 110 _(G)or only one network device 110 _(G) connected to the high-power wirelessnetwork 102 reduces the power consumed by the group 105 relative toarrangements having more than one network device 110 _(G) connected tothe high-power wireless network 102. Having one network device 110continually connected to the high-power wireless network 102 maintains alow latency type communication link (e.g., high data delivery speed)between the network devices 110G and an external device, such as thelocal computing device 50, on the high-power wireless network 102. Forexample, in one embodiment, one of the network devices 110 can maintaina low latency type communication link for a delay period that can be,for example, multiple hours, multiple days, multiple months or longer.The delay period can be a period of time during which there is nocommunication transferred from the network devices 110 to the high-powerwireless network. In general, a low latency communication is createdwhen the communication process requires no overhead time, or at least aninsignificant amount of overhead time, to transfer data across acommunication link. Overhead time includes the time that is required toplace a communication link in a state where data can then be transferredacross the commination link between devices. Thus, the overhead time mayinclude the time used to initiate the communication process (e.g.,pairing process), and thus may include the steps of creating and storinga “link key” and authenticating the identity of the linked device(s).Many conventional wireless protocols require either encryption orauthentication, and as such require pairing before they let devicesconnect to each other and transfer data. The addition of these overheadtime related steps can be time consuming and lead to an undesirablelatency for the transfer of information between devices.

Each network device 110 also includes a network communicationapplication 141 that can assist each network device 110 _(G) in thegroup 105 exchange data between the low-power wireless network 101 andan external device, such as local computing device 50, that is connectedto the high-power wireless network 102. The network communicationapplication 141 is generally configured to help extend the collectiveruntime of the group 105 before a disruption occurs, such as poweringdown of one of the network devices 110 _(G) to change a battery. Asdiscussed further below in reference to FIG. 2, the networkcommunication application 141 can be executed to determine when a givennetwork device 110 serves as a bridge device. Also, as discussed furtherbelow in reference to FIG. 3, the network communication application 141can be executed to determine how a given network device 110 shouldinteract with the low-power wireless network 101 and the high-powerwireless network 102 when the network device 110 is a bridge device.

FIG. 1B illustrates an exemplary network device 110 _(G) from the group105 that may be used to execute the methods 200, 300 described above,according to one embodiment. As shown, the network device 110 _(G)includes the low-power transceiver 120, the high-power transceiver 130,and the power source 150 described above in reference to FIG. 1A. Thenetwork device 110 _(G) can further include, without limitation acentral processing unit (CPU) 112, a display/user interface 114, one ormore LEDs 116, one or more sensors 118 (e.g., a temperature sensor,voltage, amperage), one or more inputs 119 (e.g., a button), a memory140, a recharging component(s) 154, and an interconnect 122 forproviding power and communication between the components of the networkdevice 110 _(G). Of course, an actual network device such as a wirelesssensor, will include a variety of additional hardware components.Furthermore, an actual network device may not include all of thecomponents shown in FIG. 1B, such as the display/user interface 114 orthe one or more LEDs 116.

The low-power transceiver 120 can be used to communicate on thelow-power wireless networks 101 described above. For example, thelow-power transceiver 120 can be a Bluetooth® transceiver forcommunicating on a Bluetooth® network. The high-power transceiver 130can be used to communicate on the high-power wireless networks 102described above. For example, the high-power transceiver 130 can be aWi-Fi transceiver for communicating on a Wi-Fi network. The networkdevice 110 _(G) may use both transceivers 120, 130 when the networkdevice 110 _(G) is serving as the bridge device. When the network device110 _(G) is not serving as the bridge device, the network device 110_(G) generally only uses the low-power transceiver 120 in order toconserve power.

The memory 140 may be any technically feasible type of hardware unitconfigured to store data, such as a non-transitory memory. For example,memory 140 could be a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) module, aflash memory unit, or a combination of different hardware unitsconfigured to store data. Network communication application 141, whichis stored within the memory 140, includes program code that may beexecuted by CPU 112 (or also referred to herein as the processor) inorder to perform various functionalities associated with the networkdevice 110 _(G).

The memory 140 may include the network communication application 141,which is further described below in reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The CPU112 is generally configured to retrieve and execute applications, suchas the network communication application 141. The CPU 112 may store andretrieve data disposed in the memory 140. For example, the CPU 112 storeand retrieve status information that can be used to determine when thenetwork device 110 _(G) should be the bridge device (FIG. 2) and how thenetwork device 110 _(G) should interact with the networks 101, 102 whenthe network device 110 _(G) is the bridge device (FIG. 3). The CPU 112can include a clock that may be used for any timers that may be used bythe network communication application 141 or other applications.

The memory 140 may also include one or more miscellaneous applications142, such as applications for interacting with the other components onthe network device 110 _(G), such as the display/user interface 114 andthe one or more sensors 118. The miscellaneous applications 142 mayinclude an application to check for alarm conditions that could includecomparing measurements made by the sensor (e.g., temperature, leakdetection, presence of smoke, liquid level, etc.) to alarm thresholdsstored in the memory 140. In some embodiments, when an alarm conditionexists, the CPU 112 may interact with an output, such as energizing andLED 116 or audio speaker (not shown). In some embodiments, the networkdevice 110 _(G) can transmit data indicating the alarm condition overthe low-power wireless network 101 to another device, such as aBluetooth® enabled speaker connected to external power or to a user'smobile phone for alerting a user.

The miscellaneous applications 142 of a given network device 110 _(G)may also include applications to accept user input from input(s) 119 forinteracting that network device 110 _(G) (e.g., changing settings of thedevice) or for interacting with other devices on the networks 101, 102.As one example, the network device 110 _(G) may include a switch todesignate the device as an inaccessible device, so that the device isnot used as the bridge device or not used as the bridge device until allother options for the bridge device have been exhausted. As anotherexample the network device 110 _(G) may include a button fortransmitting a predetermined signal to an internet connected device,such as the cloud server 60 shown in FIG. 1A. In one embodiment, abutton may be attached to a household device, such as a washer forcleaning laundry. When this button is pressed, execution of one of themiscellaneous applications 142 can cause the network device 110 _(G) totransmit a signal across the networks 101, 102 (through a bridge deviceif necessary) to a cloud server 60 enabling a simple task, such asordering additional laundry detergent to be performed. After pressingthe button, the user may receive feedback from the cloud server 60regarding completion of the order through numerous ways, such as anemail from the cloud server 60 or illumination of an LED 116 on thenetwork device 110 _(G). In other embodiments, input from button may beused to perform a task on the low-power wireless network 101, such ascausing the network device 110 _(G) to transmit a signal to a Bluetooth®enabled speaker to sound an alarm, for example when a user suspectsbreach of security.

The power source 150 can provide power to all of the components of thenetwork device 110 _(G). In some embodiments, the power source 150 is anon-rechargeable battery. In other embodiments, the power source 150 maybe a rechargeable battery, and the network device 110 _(G) may includethe recharging component(s) 154. In one embodiment, rechargingcomponents 154 may include solar cells and associated circuitry torecharge the power source 150. Other embodiments of the rechargingcomponent(s) 154 may include a power input for receiving an externalpower supply.

One or more of the sensors 118 may be a sensor to assist in determininga state-of-charge of the power source 150. The state-of-charge can thenbe used along with operating characteristics (e.g., average current andduty cycle) of the network device 110 _(G) to estimate the predictedruntime of the network device 110 _(G). The state-of-charge and thepredicted runtime of the network device 110 _(G) can then be includedwith the status information of the network device 110 _(G), so that thenetwork device 110 _(G) can assist the other network devices 110 on thelow-power wireless network 101 in making decisions, such as determiningwhich network device 110 should be the bridge device. In someembodiments, one or more of the sensors 118 may be used to measurevoltage of the power source 150, current from the power source 150,discharge voltage and/or current characteristics of the power source150, and/or remaining amp-hours (or watt-hours) of the power source 150to assist in determining the state-of-charge and/or predicted runtime.In this configuration, the one or more sensors 118 may be referred to aspower source sensors.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method 200 for determining when a firstnetwork device 110 ₁ (either a network device 110 _(G) of the group 105or an additional network device 110 _(A) of FIG. 1A) connects anddisconnects from the high-power wireless network 102, according to oneembodiment. The method 200 may be performed by execution of the networkcommunication application 141 stored within memory of each of thenetwork devices 110. At step 205, the first network device 110 ₁communicates with at least some of the other network devices 110 on thelow-power wireless network 101. At step 205, the first network device110 ₁ is not serving as the bridge device. If the first network device110 ₁ is a network device 110 _(G) that is part of the group 105, thenthe first network device 110 ₁ is likely not connected to the high-powerwireless network 102 at step 205. By use of software (e.g., networkcommunication application 141) stored with the network devices 110 _(G)that are part of group 105, the network devices 110 _(G) can beconfigured to only connect to the high-power wireless network 102 whenit is determined that the network device 110 _(G) is to serve as thebridge device. On the other hand, if the first network device 110 ₁ isan additional network device 110 _(A) that is not part of the group 105,then the first network device 110 ₁ may be connected to the high-powerwireless network 102 at step 205. For example, an additional networkdevice 110 _(A) that may already be connected to a high-power wirelessnetwork, such as a Wi-Fi network, is a mobile phone or a laptopcomputer.

Generally, when the first network device 110 ₁ is not serving as thebridge device, the first network device 110 ₁ communicates with theother network devices 110 on the low-power wireless network 101 througha network device 110 that is serving as the bridge device for the group105. However, in some embodiments, the first network device 110 ₁ cancommunicate with one or more of the network devices 110 that are notserving as the bridge in a peer-to-peer manner. For example, in someembodiments the first network device 110 ₁ could be located too far fromthe bridge device to directly communicate with the bridge device in apeer-to-peer manner. In such cases, the first network device 110 ₁ maycommunicate with the bridge device through another network device 110that is communicating on the low-power wireless network 101. In otherembodiments, the first network device 110 ₁ may be the network device110 that is providing the communication path between another networkdevice 110 in the group 105 and the bridge device, so that the firstnetwork device 110 ₁ can relay messages between the other network device110 and the bridge device via the low-power wireless network 101.

At step 210, the first network device 110 ₁, or another network device110, determines that the first network device 110 ₁ is better suitedthan other network devices 110 available on the low-power wirelessnetwork 101 to serve as the bridge device. The first network device 110₁, or another network device 110, can check the status of numerousconditions to determine if the first network device 110 ₁ is bettersuited to act as a bridge device between the two networks 101, 102. Insome embodiments, the bridge device can periodically collect statusinformation (e.g., power levels) from each of the network devices 110connected to the bridge device. The bridge device can then distributethis status information along with status information of the bridgedevice to each of the network devices 110, so that each network device110 can analyze the status information of the other network devices 110relative to its own status information. In an effort to further reducepower consumption, in some of embodiments, one of the network devices110 may process the status information of all of the network devices 110to determine which network device 110 is better suited than the othernetwork devices 110 to serve as the bridge device. The network device110 that processes the status information in such an embodiment may bethe bridge device or another network device 110.

In some embodiments, the determination of which network device 110should serve as the bridge device can be made by a device accessible onthe high-power wireless network 102 as another way to conserve power forthe network devices 110 _(G) in the group 105. For example, the localcomputing device 50 (e.g., a device controller, personal computer, etc.)or the internet-connected cloud server 60 shown in FIG. 1A may make thedetermination for which network device 110 should serve as the bridgedevice. In such embodiments, the network devices 110 may each stillinclude code that can allow the network devices 110 to determine ontheir own which network device 110 should be the bridge device. Thiscode can be activated, for example, if communication is lost between atleast some of the network devices 110 and the bridge device or betweenat least some of the network devices 110 and the device connected to thehigh-power wireless network 102 (e.g., the cloud server 60). Thefollowing paragraphs describe some examples of status information thatmay be used to determine which network device 110 is better suited thanthe other network devices 110 to be the bridge device.

State-of-charge is one type of status information that may be monitoredto assist in determining which network device 110 is better suited toserve as the bridge device. State-of-charge indicates how fully chargeda battery is relative to the battery in a fully charged state, such as astate-of-charge of 50% indicates a battery that is half-charged. Forsome embodiments, all of the network devices 110 _(G) in the group 105may be powered exclusively by on-board power sources, such asnon-rechargeable batteries. In such embodiments, it may be beneficial tohave the network device 110 _(G) having the highest state-of-chargeserve as the bridge device in the absence of any additional networkdevices 110 _(A). In other embodiments, a state-of-charge can be used asa factor for determining which network device 110 should serve as thebridge device.

Predicted runtime of the network devices 110 using an on-board powersource is another type of status information that may be monitored toassist in determining which network device 110 is better suited to serveas the bridge device. The predicted runtime may be an estimate of howlong a given network device 110 may operate under a typical load, suchas an estimated load for when the given network device 110 serves as thebridge device. For example, a given network device 110 may havepredicted runtime of 10,000 hours when the given network device 110 ispowered by a 2000 mAh battery that is 50% charged, the estimated load is10 mA and the estimated duty cycle is 1% to perform the continuouscommunication with the other devices. In some cases, using predictedruntime to determine which network device 110 should serve as the bridgedevice may yield better results than using state-of-charge to determinewhich network device 110. The predicted runtime information along withother parameters described herein (e.g., power usage, accessibility,maintenance status, etc.) can be used to decide which of the networkdevices should serve as the bridge device to extend the collectiveruntime that the group 105 of network devices 110 _(G) that arecommunicating across the networks 101, 102. The predicted runtimeinformation of a network device 110 may be generated by use of one ormore sensors 118 and one or more software applications, stored in amemory location within the network device 110, that are executed by theprocessor (e.g., CPU 112). In some configurations, the predicted runtimeof a second network device can be determined by a first network devicebased on power source information (e.g., measurements made of the secondnetwork device's power source) transmitted from the second networkdevice and then processed by the one or more software applicationsexecuted by the first network device's processor.

The type of each network device 110 or features of a given networkdevice 110 are other examples of status information that can be usefulin determining which network device 110 is better suited to serve as thebridge device. For example, one of the network devices 110 _(G) in thegroup 105 may include solar components to recharge an on-board battery.Because the network device 110 _(G) having solar components can rechargeits on-board battery, it can be beneficial to have this solar networkdevice 110 _(G) serve as the bridge device, especially when solar energyis available allowing the battery power of other network devices 110_(G) in the group 105 without on-board recharging capabilities to beconserved.

As another example, an additional network device 110 _(A) may includethe power input 152 described above for receiving external power from aremote power source, such as a mobile phone having an externallyaccessible power input that can be connected to a power supply to bepowered from an electrical outlet. Because the additional network device110 _(A) including the power input 152 for receiving external power froma remote power source is likely easily recharged (e.g., mobile phone) ordoes not typically operate on battery power (e.g., a television), it canbe beneficial to use such a network device 110 _(A) as the bridge devicebecause the network devices 110 _(G) in the group 105 are powered by anon-board battery that is often non-rechargeable or difficult torecharge. Using the additional network device 110 _(A) including thepower input 152 for receiving external power from a remote power sourceas the bridge device allows collective runtime of the group 105 ofnetwork devices 110 _(G) to be extended since none of the networkdevices 110 _(G) in the group 105 consumes power using a high-powertransceiver 130 when the additional network device 110 _(A) is thebridge device.

Accessibility of the different network devices 110 is another featurethat can be used to determine which network device 110 is better suitedto serve as a bridge device. For example, a proximity sensor mounted ona door may be more accessible than a smoke alarm sensor mounted on aceiling. As another example, a portable motion detector may be moreaccessible than the proximity sensor mounted to the door. In someinstances, the accessibility factor is used as a tiebreaker afterconsidering other factors, such as predicted runtime, for determiningwhich network device 110 should be the bridge device. In otherinstances, it may be desirable to configure at least some of the networkdevices 110 _(G) in the group 105 to never be the bridge device due tothe inaccessibility of the network device 110 _(G). For example, a usermay prefer earlier replacement of a battery on an accessible networkdevice 110 _(G) (e.g., a portable motion detector) to achieve prolongedruntime of the inaccessible network device 110 _(G) (e.g., a smokedetector mounted on a 20 foot high ceiling) by not using theinaccessible network device 110 _(G) as the bridge device. A user may,for example, easily configure the accessibility of one of the networkdevices 110 by changing the position of one or more hardware switches onthe network device 110 or by sending a software signal to the networkdevice 110 through a user interface on the network device 110 or from aremote device. Because accessibility of a given network device 110 is afeature that is not likely to change often, status information aboutaccessibility of the given network device 110 may be transmitted lessthan status information that is more variable, such as state-of-charge.In some cases, data relating to the accessibility of a device may begenerated by the user or the inaccessible device, and stored in memoryof the inaccessible device or one of the other network devices 110 _(G)in the group 105 for use when trying to decide which network device 110should be the bridge device.

Accessibility is just one example of why a user can choose to prioritizethe power consumption of certain network devices 110 relative to othernetwork devices 110. A user may prioritize the power consumption ofcertain network devices 110 relative to other network devices 110 forother reasons as well. For example, a user may choose to prioritize thepower consumption of a network device 110 that is scheduled for routinemaintenance, so that the battery having less charge may be replaced whenthe maintenance is performed.

Proximity to a wireless access point (e.g., a wireless router) on thehigh-power wireless network 102 can be another example of statusinformation that can be used to determine which network device 110 isbetter suited to serve as the bridge device. Network devices 110 at fardistances may consume more power than network devices 110 at closerdistances. Transmitting from further locations can cause the networkdevice 110 to provide a stronger signal to successfully complete datatransmission. Moreover, network devices 110 further from the wirelessaccess point may also encounter more noise from other wireless signalsthan network devices 110 closer to the wireless access point. This noisecan force these network devices 110 at further distances to retransmitsignals causing additional power to be consumed when the noise preventsan original signal from being successfully received by the wirelessaccess point. Because proximity of a given network device 110 is afeature that is not likely to change often, especially for inaccessibledevices, status information about the proximity of a given networkdevice 110 may be transmitted less often than status information that ismore variable, such as state-of-charge.

Observed levels of wireless interference or wireless signal strength canbe another example of status information that can be used to determinewhich network device 110 is better suited to serve as the bridge device.Network devices 110 experiencing high levels of interference or weakwireless signal strengths for communicating on the high-power wirelessnetwork 102 may consume more power than network devices 110 experiencingless interference and/or higher wireless signal strengths forcommunicating on the high-power wireless network 102. Furthermore,network devices 110 experiencing high levels of interference or weakwireless signal strengths may be more prone to becoming disconnectedfrom the high-power wireless network 102 than other network devices 110.Thus, it can be beneficial to use network devices 110 experiencing lowlevels of interference and/or high wireless signal strengths on thehigh-power wireless network 102 as the bridge device in order to consumeless power as well as to maintain a more reliable connection to thehigh-power wireless network 102.

Although each network device 110 _(G) includes a high-power transceiver130, in some embodiments, only one of the network devices 110 (i.e., thebridge device) is actively using its high-power transceiver 130 at agiven time. For example, the high-power transceivers 130 of the othernetwork devices 110 may be operated in a low-power mode or in some casesmay be completely de-energized. Thus, the levels of interference andsignal strengths on the high-power wireless network 102 for the othernetwork devices 110 cannot be determined while these network devices 110are operating their high-power transceivers 130 in the low-power orno-power mode. In one embodiment, when the current bridge device detectsan amount of interference above a threshold or a signal strength below athreshold, then the bridge device can transmit a signal to one or moreof the other network devices 110 to activate their high-powertransceivers 130 in order to determine the levels of interference andsignal strength on the high-power wireless network 102 for those othernetwork devices 110. Then a comparison can be made between the levels ofinterference and signal strengths for current bridge device relative toone or more of the other network devices 110. A determination can bemade by, for example, one of the other network devices 110 that thisother network device 110 is better suited to communicate with thehigh-power wireless network 102 than the current bridge device when thisother network device 110 observes less interference or higher signalstrength for communicating on the high-power wireless network 102 thanthe current bridge device.

In some embodiments, the bridge device can be switched among availablenetwork devices 110 _(G) in the group 105 based on one or more timers.For example, an expiration of a timer (e.g., a 24-hour timer) can beused to switch the bridge device among a subset of the network devices110 _(G), so that power can be consumed substantially evenly among thissubset of networked devices 110 _(G). The subset may, for example,include the network devices 110 _(G) that are easily accessible, such asthe network devices 110 _(G) that are portable (e.g., a portable motiondetector). The timer may include a device that is within, or used incombination with, the processor (e.g., CPU 112) to count-up orcount-down until an allotted “use time window” value, which may be aconstant stored in memory, has been reached. In one embodiment, onenetwork device 110 _(G) can use software to execute the timer used toswitch which network device 110 _(G) is the bridge device in amaster-slave arrangement. Executing the timer on only one network device110 can conserve power on the other network devices 110. Using a timerto determine which network device 110 _(G) should be the bridge devicecan also be useful when the group 105 includes network devices 110 _(G)that do not include sensors to monitor the state-of-charge of thebatteries or when deciding not to monitor the state-of-charge of thebatteries in a further attempt to conserve power. Furthermore, using atimer to determine which network device 110 _(G) should be the bridgedevice can also be useful when the group 105 includes network devices110 _(G) that all are all a same type of network devices 110 _(G) havingthe same power requirements, such as a group of sensors that are eachexpected to consume substantially similar amounts of power over extendedtime periods. For such embodiments that have a group of network devices110 _(G) that have the same expected power requirements, the extrahardware for monitoring the remaining power of the devices may beunnecessary.

State-of-charge and predicted runtime are examples of power-levelindicators (also referred to as power-level values) that can be includedin the status information. Power-level indicators and any otherinformation about the power source(s) (e.g., on-board battery, remotepower source) that are used to power a network device 110 are examplesof power-related data, also referred to herein as power information.Information exchanged between network devices 110 other than powerinformation can generally be referred to as device information. Deviceinformation can include, for example, status information about thenetwork devices 110 or communication information from a network device110 to be transmitted to a device on the high-power wireless network102.

Next, during step 210, the first network device 110 ₁ can analyze thedifferent status information (e.g., state-of-charge, accessiblity ofdevices, proximities to wireless access point, etc.) available for theother network devices 110 against its own status information todetermine if the first network device 110 ₁ should be the bridge device.Numerous rules may be constructed to determine which network device 110should be the bridge device based on the status information available.For example, a rule may be set to use certain types of availableadditional network devices 110 _(A) (e.g., a television) as the bridgedevice regardless of the other status information, such asstate-of-charge of the batteries of the network devices 110 _(G) in thegroup 105. For example, another rule may be set to only use moderatelyaccessible network devices 110 (e.g., proximity sensor mounted to adoor) as the bridge device if the easily accessible network devices 110(e.g., portable remote control) each have state-of-charge less than 25%.These rules can be adapted as needed for a given group 105 of networkdevices 110 _(G).

At step 215, after determining the first network device 110 ₁ should bethe bridge device, the first network device 110 ₁ connects to thehigh-power wireless network 102. For example, in some embodiments thisstep may be represented by the first network device 110 ₁ connecting tothe high-power wireless network 102 by forming a Wi-Fi connection to awireless access point (e.g., wireless router) on the high-power wirelessnetwork 102. In some embodiments, this step is also represented by thefirst network device 110 ₁ forming a communication link to one of thedevices on the high-power wireless network 102, such as the cloud server60. If the first network device 110 ₁ is an additional network device110 _(A), such as a mobile phone, the additional network device 110 _(A)may already be connected to the high-power wireless network 102 beforedetermining the first network device 110 ₁ should be the bridge device.

At step 220, the first network device 110 ₁ connects to other networkdevices 110 on the low-power wireless network 101, such as a Bluetooth®connection. The first network device 110 ₁ may have already beenconnected to one or more of the other network devices 110 on thelow-power wireless network 101. In such cases, step 220 is when thefirst network device 110 ₁ connects to the rest of the network devices110 on the low-power wireless network 101. The order in which steps 215and 220 are performed may be switched or performed substantiallysimultaneously.

At step 225, the first network device 110 ₁ may optionally send anacknowledgment to the last bridge device informing the last bridgedevice that the first network device 110 ₁ is the new bridge device andhas established connections to the high-power wireless network 102.During step 225 the first network device 110 ₁ may optionally also sendstatus type information to the other network devices 110 on thelow-power wireless network 101. At this point, the last bridge devicemay disconnect from the high-power wireless network 102, and optionallydisconnect from at least some of the network devices 110 on thelow-power wireless network 101. For example, the last bridge device canmaintain its connection on the low-power wireless network 101 to the newbridge device, which is the first network device 110 ₁. In someembodiments, the last bridge device can determine on its own that thelast bridge device should no longer be the bridge device causing thelast bridge device to disconnect from the high-power wireless network102 and to disconnect from at least some of the network devices 110 onthe low-power wireless network 101. In some cases, the last bridgedevice may decide that it should not be the bridge device due to someissue with the state of the last bridge device, such as the batterylevels being too low, defects in the device, software issues or someother issue that may prevent it from adequately performing the task ofbeing the bridge device. If the last bridge device decides that the lastbridge device should not be the bridge device, then the last bridgedevice may send a signal to one or more of the network devices 110 _(G)of the group 105 to notify these network devices 110 _(G) that a newbridge device needs to be selected.

The first network device 110 ₁ remains as the bridge device untilanother network device 110 is determined to be the bridge device at step230. For example the first network device 110 ₁ may receive anacknowledgment from the new bridge device informing the first networkdevice 110 ₁ that the new bridge device has completed connections to thehigh-power wireless network 102 and to the other network devices 110 onthe low-power wireless network 101. In some embodiments, the firstnetwork device 110 ₁ may be able to determine on its own when the firstnetwork device 110 ₁ should not be the bridge device anymore.Furthermore, another device, such as a device on the high-power wirelessnetwork 102 may be able to determine which network device 110 should bethe new bridge device and notify the first network device 110 ₁ that thefirst network device 110 ₁ is no longer the bridge device.

At step 235, after determining the first network device 110 ₁ should notbe the bridge device anymore, the first network device 110 ₁ disconnectsfrom the high-power wireless network 102. At step 240, the first networkdevice 1101 disconnects from at least some of the network devices 110 onthe low-power wireless network 101. For example, the first networkdevice 110 ₁ may disconnect all network devices 110 except the newbridge device. The order in which steps 235 and 240 are performed may beswitched. After step 240, the first network device 110 ₁ communicates onthe networks 101, 102 through the bridge device and periodicallyevaluates status information to determine when the first network device110 ₁ should serve as the bridge device again.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method 300 for determining how the firstnetwork device 110 ₁ should interact with the low-power wireless network101 and the high-power wireless network 102 when the first networkdevice 110 ₁ is the bridge device. The method 300 illustrates how abalance can be set for reducing power consumption for the networkdevices 110 _(G) in the group 105 while still allowing the bridge deviceto provide the communication path between the network devices 110 _(G)in the group 105 and an external device, such as the cloud server 60, onthe high-power wireless network 102.

At step 305, the first network device 110 ₁ serving as the bridge devicereceives data from one or more devices on the low-power wireless network101 and the high-power wireless network 102. When receiving data on thelow-power wireless network 101, the first network device 110 ₁ may, forexample, receive updated measurements from a sensor of one of thenetwork devices 110 _(G) in the group 105. When receiving data on thehigh-power wireless network 102, the first network device 110 ₁ may, forexample, receive settings from a controller on the high-power wirelessnetwork 102 to configure one or more of the network devices 110, such asconfiguring a smoke detector (i.e., one of the network devices 110 _(G))on a high ceiling as an inaccessible device to prevent or delay use ofthe smoke detector as the bridge device.

At step 310, the first network device 110 ₁ transmits the received datafrom step 305 to the intended destination. For example, the firstnetwork device 110 ₁ may transmit the updated measurements from thenetwork device 110 including the sensor from step 305 to the cloudserver 60 accessible on the high-power wireless network 102. The cloudserver 60 may, for example, compare measurements to identify alarmconditions as well as store measurements received from the bridge devicefor trending historical data. As another example of the first networkdevice 110 ₁ transmitting data in step 310, the first network device 110₁ may transmit the received settings from the controller to the smokedetector as described above in reference to step 305.

At step 315, when the first network device 110 ₁ is not receiving dataor transmitting data, the first network device 110 ₁ can check todetermine if a condition exists for disconnecting from the high-powerwireless network 102. Maintaining the connection between the bridgedevice (i.e., the first network device 110 ₁ here) and the high-powerwireless network 102 can consume substantial amounts of power. Thus, atcertain times it may be beneficial for the bridge device to disconnectfrom the high-power wireless network 102 while still remaining as thedesignated bridge device. However, disconnecting from the high-powerwireless network 102 will adversely affect the communication speed ofone or more of the network devices 110 _(G) in the group 105 with anexternal device, since it will typically require multiple steps toconnect and renegotiate the communication link between the bridge deviceand the high-power wireless network 102. In some cases, the slowcommunication speed is highly undesirable, and thus the technique ofdisconnecting from the high-power wireless network 102 is not doneunless it is absolutely necessary. In some embodiments, a recurringtimer may be used to check whether a condition for disconnecting thebridge device from the high-power wireless network 102 is present, suchas once every hour.

Determining when a bridge device should disconnect from the high-powerwireless network 102 to conserve power can include evaluating much ofthe same status information that is evaluated when a network device 110is determined to be a new bridge device. For example, the power-relatedstatus information, such as state-of-charge and predicted runtime, andaccessibility status information for the network devices 110 _(G) in thegroup 105, can be relevant to determining when a bridge device shoulddisconnect from the high-power wireless network 102 to conserve power.For example, a rule may be used to disconnect a network device 110 _(G)of the group 105 serving as the bridge device from the high-powerwireless network 102 when the predicted runtime of all of the networkdevices 110 _(G) excluding the inaccessible network devices 110 _(G)(e.g., the smoke detector on the ceiling) is below 100 hours. As anotherexample, an additional network device 110 _(A) may only be disconnectedto conserve power when the additional network device 110 _(A) isdisconnected from external power, the predicted runtime of theadditional network device 110 _(A) is below two hours and the predictedruntime of all of the network devices 110 _(G) excluding theinaccessible network devices 110 _(G) (e.g., the smoke detector on theceiling) is below 100 hours. In some embodiments, a device other thanthe bridge device can perform the processing to determine whenconditions exist for disconnecting the bridge device from the high-powerwireless network 102. For example, the cloud server 60 connected to thebridge device may evaluate the available status information to determinewhen the bridge device should disconnect from the high-power wirelessnetwork 102 to conserve power.

If at step 315, the first network device 110 ₁ determines a conditiondoes not exist for disconnecting from the high-power wireless network102 to conserve power, the first network device 110 ₁ resumes orcontinues to receive and transmit data at steps 305 and 310. If at step315, the first network device 110 ₁ determines a condition does existfor disconnecting from the high-power wireless network 102 to conservepower, then the first network device 110 ₁ disconnects from thehigh-power wireless network 102 at step 320. At step 325, afterdisconnecting from the high-power wireless network 102, the firstnetwork device 110 ₁ checks for conditions to reconnect to thehigh-power wireless network 102. Such conditions may include receivingdata from a network device 110 on the low-power wireless network 101 tobe transmitted to the high-power wireless network 102. Such conditionsmay also using the expiration of a timer, such as a one hour timer, toperiodically reconnect to the high-power wireless network 102 todetermine if there is any data to be transmitted to one of the networkdevices 110 from the high-power wireless network 102. The first networkdevice 110 ₁ remains in step 325 until the first network device 110 ₁determines a condition exists for reconnecting to the high-powerwireless network 102 occurs.

At step 330, upon determining a condition exists for reconnecting to thehigh-power wireless network 102, the first network device 110 ₁reconnects to the high-power wireless network 102. After reconnecting tothe high-power wireless network 102, the first network device 110 ₁ canreceive and transmit data in steps 305 and 310 as described above. Thefirst network device 110 ₁ can also check if conditions exist fordisconnecting from the high-power wireless network 102 again in step 315after receiving and transmitting data in steps 305, 310. The firstnetwork device 110 ₁ can continue this loop of disconnecting from andreconnecting to the high-power wireless network 102 indefinitely.

Although having the bridge device disconnected from the high-powerwireless network 102 creates higher latency for communication betweenthe networks 101, 102, a proper balance between power consumption andlatency can be set by adjusting settings related to when the bridgedevice disconnects and reconnects to the high-power wireless network102. For example, power-related settings (e.g., state-of-charge) forwhen the bridge device disconnects from the high-power wireless network102 can be adjusted. As another example, the time period in which thebridge device remains disconnected before reconnecting to the high-powerwireless network 102 to check if any data is to be transmitted from thehigh-power wireless network 102 to one of the network devices 110 on thelow-power wireless network 101 can also be adjusted.

In another embodiment, when the first network device 110 ₁ determines acondition does exist for disconnecting from the high-power wirelessnetwork 102 to conserve power, then the bridge device or another networkdevice 110 _(G) in the group 105 may check if there is another group ofnetwork devices that (1) collectively has more power than the group 105and (2) is capable of communicating to the low-power wireless network101 and the high-power wireless network 102. If there is such a group ofnearby network devices within a communication range of the group 105,then the group 105 may be able to reroute the communication between thelow-power wireless network 101 and the high-power wireless network 102through one or more of the network devices in this other group.Rerouting the communication through this other group allows thecommunication between the low-power wireless network 101 and thehigh-power wireless network 102 to continue without consuming the powerwhich occurs when one of the network devices 110 _(G) in the group 105is active on the high-power wireless network 102. Thus, in thisembodiment power consumption is preserved and low latency is alsomaintained when the other group is available to reroute and/or relay thecommunication between the group 105 and the high-power wireless network102.

In another embodiment, when the first network device 110 ₁ determines acondition does exist for disconnecting from the high-power wirelessnetwork 102 to conserve power, a new network device (e.g., a robot) maybe automatically deployed to serve as the bridge device allowing thegroup 105 of network device 110 _(G) to remain connected with thehigh-power wireless network 102. For example, in one embodiment amessage could be sent to a local external device on the high-powerwireless network 102, such as the local computing device 50 shown inFIG. 1A. The local computing device 50 may then send a command for arobot (e.g., a drone) to deploy to the area including the group 105 ofnetwork devices 110 _(G), so that the robot can serve as the bridgedevice until a network device 110 _(G) or an available additionalnetwork device 110 _(A) can serve as the bridge device for the group105. When the robot is no longer needed as the bridge device, then therobot can automatically return to a location to be recharged, such as adocking station.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may bedevised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scopethereof is determined by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising a first network devicethat comprises: a processor; a first transceiver; a second transceiver;a non-transitory memory hosting an application, which, when executed bythe processor, performs an operation comprising: receiving, at the firstnetwork device, device information and power information from a secondnetwork device, wherein the received device information and powerinformation is transferred over a first communication link on a firstnetwork, wherein the first communication link is formed between a firsttransceiver of the first network device and a first transceiver of thesecond network device; comparing the received power information withpower information of the first network device, wherein the powerinformation of the first network device includes information about afirst power source used to power the first network device and thereceived power information includes information about a second powersource used to power the second network device; and transferring atleast a portion of the received device information from the firstnetwork device over a second communication link on a second network whenit is determined based on the comparison that the first network deviceis better suited to communicate with the second network than the secondnetwork device, wherein the second communication link is formed betweenthe second transceiver of the first network device and a devicetransceiver of an external electronic device, wherein the first powersource is an on-board power source of the first network device and thepower information of the first network device comprises a firststate-of-charge of the first power source, the second power source is anon-board power source of the second network device and the powerinformation of the second network device comprises a secondstate-of-charge of the second power source, and the first network deviceis determined to be better suited to communicate on the second networkwhen the first state-of-charge is greater than the secondstate-of-charge, and wherein the operation performed by the applicationfurther comprises: upon determining the first state-of-charge is lessthan the second state-of-charge, transferring additional deviceinformation from the second network device over a third communicationlink formed between a second transceiver of the second network deviceand the device transceiver of the external electronic device, andwherein transferring the additional device information over the thirdcommunication link is performed after terminating the secondcommunication link.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the powerinformation of the first network device comprises a first predictedruntime of the first network device using the first power source, thepower information of the second network device comprises a secondpredicted runtime of the second network device using the second powersource, and the first network device is determined to be better suitedto communicate on the second network when the first predicted runtime isgreater than the second predicted runtime.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the power information of the first network device comprises afirst attribute indicating a type of power source attributed to thefirst power source, the power information from the second network devicecomprises a second attribute indicating a type of power sourceattributed to the second power source, and the first network device isdetermined to be better suited to communicate on the second networkbased on a difference between the types of power sources attributed tothe first network device and the second network device.
 4. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the operation performed by the application furthercomprises: disconnecting the first network device from the secondnetwork when a power-level indicator of the first power source dropsbelow a threshold; and upon determining, by the first network device, arequest to send data to the second network, restoring the connectionbetween first network device and the second network.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the received power information comprises a predictedruntime of the second network device, and the power information of thefirst network device comprises a predicted runtime of the first networkdevice.
 6. A wireless communication system, comprising: a first networkdevice comprising: a first processor; a first power storage device; anexternal network communication transceiver of the first network device;and an internal network communication transceiver of the first networkdevice; a second network device comprising: a second processor; a secondpower storage device; an external network communication transceiver ofthe second network device; and an internal network communicationtransceiver of the second network device; and a non-transitory memory inthe first network device that hosts an application, which, when executedby the first processor, performs an operation comprising: receivingdevice information and power information from the second network device,wherein the received device information and power information istransferred over a first communication link formed between the internalnetwork communication transceiver of the first network device and theinternal network communication transceiver of the second network device;comparing the received power information with power information of thefirst network device, wherein the power information of the first networkdevice includes information about the first power storage device used topower the first network device and the received power informationincludes information about the second power storage device used to powerthe second network device; transferring at least a portion of thereceived device information from the first network device to an externalelectronic device using the external network communication transceiverof the first network device when it is determined based on thecomparison that the first network device is better suited to communicatewith the external electronic device than the second network device,maintaining, at the first network device, a second communication linkbetween the external network communication transceiver in the firstnetwork device and the external electronic device, and maintaining, atthe first network device, the first communication link between theinternal network communication transceiver in the first network deviceand the internal network communication transceiver in the second networkdevice, wherein the communication links are simultaneously maintained,and each have a low latency.
 7. The wireless communication system ofclaim 6, wherein the operation performed by the application furthercomprises: terminating the second communication link formed between theexternal network communication transceiver in the first network deviceand the external electronic device when the comparison determines that astate-of-charge of the first power storage device is less than astate-of-charge of the second power storage device, and the wirelesscommunication system further comprises a non-transitory memory in thesecond network device that hosts an application, which, when executed bythe second processor, performs an operation comprising: forming a thirdcommunication link between the external network communicationtransceiver in the second network device and the external electronicdevice when the state-of-charge of the first power storage device isless than the state-of-charge of the second power storage device.
 8. Awireless communication system, comprising: a first network devicecomprising: a first processor; a first power storage device; an externalnetwork communication transceiver of the first network device; aninternal network communication transceiver of the first network device;and a first power sensor that is configured to measure power informationfrom the first power storage device; a second network device comprising:a second processor; a second power storage device; an external networkcommunication transceiver of the second network device; an internalnetwork communication transceiver of the second network device; and asecond power sensor that is configured to measure power information fromthe second power storage device; and a non-transitory memory in thefirst network device that hosts an application, which, when executed bythe first processor, performs an operation comprising: comparing powerinformation that is received from the second network device with powerinformation measured by the first power sensor, wherein the receivedpower information includes information measured by the second powersensor; and transferring device information from the first networkdevice to an external electronic device using the external networkcommunication transceiver of the first network device when it isdetermined, based on the comparison of the power information receivedfrom the second network device and the power information measured by thefirst power sensor, that the first network device is better suited tocommunicate with the external electronic device than the second networkdevice, wherein the first power storage device is an on-board powersource of the first network device and the power information measured bythe first power sensor comprises a first state-of-charge of the firstpower storage device, the second power storage device is an on-boardpower source of the second network device and the received powerinformation of the second network device comprises a secondstate-of-charge of the second power storage device, and the firstnetwork device is determined to be better suited to communicate on thesecond network when the first state-of-charge is greater than the secondstate-of-charge, wherein the operation performed by the applicationfurther comprises: upon determining the first state-of-charge is lessthan the second state-of-charge, transferring additional deviceinformation from the second network device over a second communicationlink formed between the external network communication transceiver ofthe second network device and a device transceiver of the externalelectronic device, and wherein transferring the additional deviceinformation over the second communication link is performed afterterminating a first communication link that was formed between theexternal network communication transceiver of the first network deviceand the device transceiver of the external electronic device.
 9. Thewireless communication system of claim 8, wherein the power informationreceived from the second network device comprises a predicted runtime ofthe second network device that is powered by the second power storagedevice.
 10. The wireless communication system of claim 8, wherein thefirst network device is determined to be better suited to communicatewith the external electronic device when a predicted runtime of thefirst network device that is powered by the first power storage deviceis greater than the predicted runtime of the second network device thatis powered by the second power storage device.
 11. A wirelesscommunication system, comprising: a first network device comprising: afirst processor; a first power storage device; an external networkcommunication transceiver of the first network device; an internalnetwork communication transceiver of the first network device; and afirst power sensor that is configured to measure power information fromthe first power storage device; a second network device comprising: asecond processor; a second power storage device; an external networkcommunication transceiver of the second network device; an internalnetwork communication transceiver of the second network device; and asecond power sensor that is configured to measure power information fromthe second power storage device; and a non-transitory memory in thefirst network device that hosts an application, which, when executed bythe first processor, performs an operation comprising: comparing powerinformation that is received from the second network device with powerinformation measured by the first power sensor, wherein the receivedpower information includes information measured by the second powersensor, transferring device information from the first network device toan external electronic device using the external network communicationtransceiver of the first network device when it is determined, based onthe comparison of the power information received from the second networkdevice and the power information measured by the first power sensor,that the first network device is better suited to communicate with theexternal electronic device than the second network device, wherein thepower information of the first network device comprises a firstattribute indicating a type of power source attributed to the firstpower storage device; the received power information from the secondnetwork device comprises a second attribute indicating a type of powersource attributed to the second power storage device; and the firstnetwork device is determined to be better suited to communicate with thesecond network when the first attribute indicates the first powerstorage device is a remote power source and the second attributeindicates the second power storage device is an on-board power source.12. A wireless communication system, comprising: a first network devicecomprising: a first processor; a first power storage device; an externalnetwork communication transceiver of the first network device; aninternal network communication transceiver of the first network device;and a first power sensor that is configured to measure power informationfrom the first power storage device; a second network device comprising:a second processor; a second power storage device; an external networkcommunication transceiver of the second network device; an internalnetwork communication transceiver of the second network device; and asecond power sensor that is configured to measure power information fromthe second power storage device; and a non-transitory memory in thefirst network device that hosts an application, which, when executed bythe first processor, performs an operation comprising: comparing powerinformation that is received from the second network device with powerinformation measured by the first power sensor, wherein the receivedpower information includes information measured by the second powersensor, transferring device information from the first network device toan external electronic device using the external network communicationtransceiver of the first network device when it is determined, based onthe comparison of the power information received from the second networkdevice and the power information measured by the first power sensor,that the first network device is better suited to communicate with theexternal electronic device than the second network device, terminatingthe communication between the first network device and the externalelectronic device when a power-level indicator of the first powerstorage device drops below a threshold, and restoring communicationbetween the first network device and the external electronic device upondetermining, by the first network device, that a request to transmitdata has been received from the second network device via the internalnetwork communication transceiver.